Russell Simmons Featured on Vegetarian Billboard

The music moguls smiling face and meat-free ethics on a new Chi-Town billboard aim to inspire motorists to go vegetarian.

Hip hop icon Russell Simmons will be spreading the cruelty-free message to South Chicago residents on a new Mercy For Animals billboard, which features the Def Jam Records co-founder alongside the words “Live Well. Eat Well. Choose Vegetarian.” Simmons also stars in a video on the MFA website, where he talks about his spiritual reckoning that led him to veganism, noting that an animal-product free diet has bolstered his mental and physical well-being. “There are 40 billion animals every year that are born into suffering,” says Simmons. “That’s the worst karmic disaster in the history of the world … You can’t save all of them, but by not eating them you can save thousands of them during your lifetime.”